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POPS 25th Anniversary Season Opens on October 22nd with Hollywoods Great Entertainers - Tickets Still Available!
10/16/03

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops Opens 25th Anniversary Season with Hollywood�s Great Entertainers, Featuring Guest Artists
Judy Kuhn and Tom Wopat

In the first concerts of the 2003-04 season, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops celebrate the magical sounds of the silver screen and the vocalists who became Hollywood icons. Hollywood�s Great Entertainers features Tony Award nominees Judy Kuhn and Tom Wopat performing the songs immortalized by Barbra Streisand, Judy Garland, Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire.

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops will also play the music associated with popular motion pictures, including excerpts from Gladiator, one of the biggest selling motion picture soundtracks, and selections from the glory days of the epic MGM musicals. Since Maestro Nero is well known for surprises, expect several Hollywood �legends� to drop in for cameo appearances.

Performances of Hollywood�s Great Entertainers begin on Wednesday, October 22 at 8pm and continues on Friday October 24 at 8pm, Saturday, October 25 at 2pm and Sunday, October 26 at 3pm. Peter Nero and the Philly Pops perform at Verizon Hall in The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and is one of The Kimmel Center�s resident companies.

Both Judy Kuhn and Tom Wopat have extensive musical theater and recording credits.

Judy Kuhn was nominated for three Tony Awards and two Drama Desk Awards. In 2002, she starred in Passion at the Kennedy Center�s Sondheim Celebration. Broadway credits include The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Rags and Sunset Boulevard. She also appeared in The Roundabout Theater�s hit revival of She Loves Me. Ms. Kuhn sang the title role in the Disney film Pocahontas and the sequel Pocahontas: Journey to a New World.

Tom Wopat�s role as Luke Duke on the �70�s hit TV series The Dukes of Hazard led to a career on Broadway, off-Broadway, in films and as a recording artist. He was nominated for a Tony Award for the role of Frank Butler to Bernadette Peter�s Annie in the Broadway revival of Annie Get Your Gun. Other productions include the Tony Award-winning musicals City of Angels and Guys and Dolls. Mr. Wopat has also appeared with the Cincinnati Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. His most recent album release is The Still of the Night.

Peter Nero�s impressive career as a conductor, arranger, composer, pianist and recording artist includes two Grammy Awards, with a total of ten Grammy nominations and 67 albums over the past 40 years.

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops is presented by Encore Series, Inc., a non-profit organization enriching the cultural life of Philadelphia through the performing arts. Call 215.546.6400 for information about subscriptions to the 2003-04 season, or online at www.phillypops.com Single tickets are on sale at The Kimmel Center Box Office, located at Broad and Spruce Streets or charge-by-phone through
TicketPhiladelphia at 215.893.1999.

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POPS� QUIZ � 25 YEARS OF POPS HISTORY. Did you know that during Senator John Glenn�s 1998 space mission, his wake-up music included excerpts from Peter Nero�s original composition Voyage Into Space. Later in 2002, Senator Glenn made a guest appearance with The POPS in a special performance of Voyage Into Space at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.